Whats the stupidest argument with a company you have had.

I have had a letter from one dated yesterday, arriving in today's post telling me I had to contact them by LAST Friday in order for the agreement still to stand.

I phoned them this morning and they were insistent the agreement could no longer stand because I did not contact them by last Friday He was completely sure it was my fault and there was no room for movement.

The house where I grew up (Dad is still there) is in a very ordinary road but is a few years younger than the other houses. Basically it used to be farmland with an old barn that was the last thing to be demolished and two more houses were built in the gap. Rather than renumber the existing houses they called them number'a' and 'b'. Oh the problems it's caused over the years with companies insisting we lived in a flat!

It's not my story but it's god so I want to share it...I have a friend who recently received a call from her insurance company saying her car had been hit whilst parked and the person who had done it had given their details and they needed to take the car in to be fixed. She continually asks, "are you sure? there's nothing wrong with it, I can't see anything damaged" etc etc. Eventually agrees to take car in to the specified garage.Goes to get car back and they say she has to pay an excess, she refutes it as she has no excess on her policy....Turns out they had the wrong car. They are looking at a completely different policy. Last I heard they were demanding she pay them for the no existent repairs they made. And she had to pay the "excess" to get her car back. Although knowing her I don't rate their chances

My last boyfriend before I met my husband somehow managed to open a joint credit card with my name without my signature. I still boggle as to how this happened.

Anyway, I found out when my brother rang me to tell me this debt collection agency in New Orleans was trying to reach me at his house in California. How they found that number is a mystery as I've never lived at that address. I was living in Belfast at that point.

My sister in law holds a limited Power of Attorney for me for that sort of thing in America, but they wouldn't talk to her. So we all shrugged and I said I'd try to ring them the next time I was in the US.

Which I did. To be told that if I didn't not pay them something like $20,000 within 60 days they'd start taking money directly from my wages through the court. I laughed at the woman and said 'And how are you going to do that, exactly?'

'It's very common ma'am.'

'You seem to be missing the part where I don't live in the US, have no job in the US and no bank account.'

'Of course you do.'

'I really don't. I'm here on holiday. I go back in 5 days.'

'You're American. You have an American bank account.'

'No. I don't.'

This went on for some time before I just laughed again and told them to try and hung up the phone.

I assume they tried to find my US job and, naturally, didn't find one, as I've never heard from them again.

A few years ago I was living overseas on project. It had taken us a long time to get an international phone line As they had run out numbers But we were eventually given one once I had met with the telecoms manager. In fact they proudly gave us a 'special' number  one with made up of mostly the same digit.Unfortunately our house was not very secure, and after we had been burgled three times we decided to move. Our new house already had an international phone line so we went to the Telecom office to ask for our account to be transferred to the new number.Telecom man:'But Miss Rainy, we gave you a special number'.Me:'Yes I knew you did, and we were very grateful for it. However we need to move to a new house as our current house is not safe, so we don't need that number any more.'Man:'But Miss Rainy, don't you like the special number?'Me:'Yes, we like it very much. But not enough to want to stay in our house and keep being burgled.'Man:'So you are telling me you want to give back the special number?'Me:'Yes'Man:'Oh Are you sure you don't want to stay in your house and keep the special number?'Me:'Thank you, but actually no'

I moved into a new house and had a frustrating conversation with the water company, the only part I remember though is when she said to me that I should send a letter addressed to "The occupier" back saying not known at this address.

I had a call on my mobile from some car company claiming I had asked them to call me. I said I hadn't and asked them not to call me again. She asked for my details to take me off their list and didn't understand when I said I hadn't given them my details, so why would they be on her list.

Another daft one: my road tax renewal letter came in a couple of weeks ago, as well as one for the previous owner of our house.

They had mail redirection set up for a year, and I don't have their new address. The back of the DVLA envelope says "IF UNDELIVERED DO NOT RETURN TO SENDER".

I put the letter in the recycling.

Isn't it an offence to have road tax at the wrong address, anyway? She must have had to renew it before now, as they moved out 18m ago! The DVLA must just be relying on the police to do a random check, rather than allowing me returning the letter to alert them to the problem.

HSBC have or had a policy of sending new credit cards to your branch, rather than to your home, presumably for security. Only they won't let you change the branch your account is registered to. So when you move 300 miles away, you either have to go back to pick up the ard or get it redirected to a branch near you for collection.

All of this makes perfect sense, until they fail to send a letter informing you that the card is ready for collection or a reminder two weeks later and then you go on holiday to Barcelona and have your card swallowed by an ATM in orde to "force you" to come into the branch and pick up your new card.

Fortunately, I was with my now DH, who was able to sub me until we got home. Where the "two week reminder" letter was on my doormat, dated five weeks after the "two week reminder letter" was supposedly sent to me, and having been redirected by my parents, as HSBC had used my old address. Despite the fact that they had been sending me statements to the correct address for six months.

The man in the branch at HSBC refused to apologise that their series of extraordinary cock ups had left me potentially penniless in a foreign country because the procedure was for my own protection. I asked him there and then for the forms to close my account.

In the days when you had child benefit books- I had three children and one of them died. I sent back the child benfit book and a covering letter explaining. They returned it with just a line through the name. I was devestated to see the name crossed out just like that- beyond insensitive. To add insult they had crossed out the wrong child's name. I had to go to the Post Office to cash it and explain "it wasn't that child who had died". I did write and email the Child Benefit Dept but they never replied. Shocking.

When I moved into my current property it was on a new build street and there were no communications lines at the time. They built my side first, then had to build the other side before they could dig up the pavement to put in the lines.

I rang BT, explained I was moving, they explained communication lines and it was agreed that I would continue paying a small monthly DD a it would cost £160 odd to connect my house to the outside line.

Anyway bad weather delayed the lines, they sent someone to do it twice - both times we made the poor guy waiting outside in the freezing temperatures tea.

They then decided to charge me for cancelling my phone and broadband before the contract expired. After many calls they accepted it wasn't me cancelling it but them not getting the lines down so I couldn't connect!

Was all sorted, added the connection fee and agreed I would start a new contract on one of their current offers. Get a bill saying I'm £34.56 in arrears but I knew they were refunding my £160 so thought nothing of it.

A week later they disconnect my phone - ring up - explain and say I understand it's been a mistake and the refund is obviously taken longer. 5 phonecalls later they agree that expecting me to pay £35 (because it was that 1/4 bill) when they would be refunding me £160 (apparently during next 1/4 ) was out of order so they agreed to reconnect the line.

Then told me it was £10 reconnection charge.

I gave it with both barrels and contract ended after me threatening OFCOM!

After my last boyfriend left I had been (too kindly) forwarding his post to him.

Alittle while later I started receiving phone calls to the landline and my mobile asking me to speak to him.

One conversation went:- can I talk to mr knobhead?- sorry noone of that name lives here- yes he does. Can I speak to him.- no sorry he used to but moved out 10 months ago. I've not seen him since.- madam we know he lives there. We need to speak with him- no I've told you he doesn't live here. - yes he does

And on and on in that vein .......

-me: I can assure you I know who lives in my house and he doesn't live here anymore. Unless he is hiding in the cellar which I think you'll find is highly unlikely given I don't have one.- well I'll call back later- well you can but he still won't be living here then either!

Turns out he'd taken out credit agreements against my address and when he defaulted they started calling - one company had me down as a guarantee! By that point I told them I'd not seen him in months and could be dead for all I knew but referred them onto his father. I also started returning his post "return to sender" so he couldn't use the post as proof of address.

Last Tuesday, (18/6) when i arrived home from work at 4.30pm, there was a letter waiting for me (which had been written on the 14/6 & postedon the 17/6) from my sons school, advising me he had a detention that day (18/6) at 3.10pm. There had been a mix up with dates apparently